Regulations for Plot Cultivation

Plots correctly cultivated will be: cultivated bare soil, supporting recognisable crops including green manures, grazing agreed livestock, properly sheeted with strong light-excluding sheet or closely mown.  The use of carpets is strongly discouraged. Please note that plastic sheeting will not be permitted for longer than one year in the same place.

Specified pathways attached to your plot must be visible and clear of obstruction. Pathway maintenance responsibility guidance is:

• Plots 1-25      pathways to the east and north of your plot
• Plots 26-50    pathways to the south and east of your plot
• Plots 51-81    pathways to the south and west of your plot

Most paths should be 50cm wide (20 inches) for pedestrian access but some are maintained at 1 metre (40 inches) wide for access through to plots behind yours with the 2-wheeled barrow.

Inspections will be carried out twice a year:

• Spring (2 weeks After Easter) i.e. March or April
• Autumn - mid/late September

The Inspection Group will consist of at least 3 committee members (preferably more) who will make a consensus decision on the condition of plots of concern and the action to be taken in each case.

ACTION ARISING FROM INSPECTION RESULTS
Plots uncultivated 25%-50%
Sub-tenant to be sent a reminder letter.  Sub-tenants who respond citing admissible mitigating circumstances for example ill-health or caring commitments to be recorded by the Secretary and the case allocated to a suitable committee member for follow-up and help. Sub-tenants will either improve the plot or need to be reminded again at the next inspection.  Sub-tenants receiving 3 reminder letters in a row will automatically be allocated a smaller area of the plot and the remainder will be re-let.

Plots uncultivated more than 50%
Sub-tenant to be sent a warning letter to their home. The case to be allocated immediately to a suitable committee member who will follow up with a telephone or personal call to check that the tenant is fully aware of the situation.  At this point the sub-tenant may cite mitigating circumstances in which case this will be recorded by the Secretary and steps taken by the committee member handling the case to arrange a smaller area of the plot or provide some other practical help.  Sub-tenants not responding at all or whose plots, even with help, are still 50% or more uncultivated at the next inspection will lose the plot in its entirety on the date of the next inspection.

Sample warning letter

Sample termination letter

New Plotholders must cultivate a minumum of one third of their area in the first growing season. After thefirst season the normal rules apply.

Pensioner Discount. Men and women over the age of 65 who are unwaged pensioners can apply to the treasurer for a discount of one third off the normal price i.e. to pay rent at two-thirds of the full price. The applicant must be the main gardener of the plot i.e. it would not be admissible for a non-pensioner to claim discount because they are gardening a plot held in a pensioner's name. Applications to the Treasurer for a pensioner discount will be considered on individual merit and if necessary referred to the committee for decision. There are no other discounts.

Rubbish

Everything on your plot, including rubbish, is your responsibility, however the Association recognise that new plot holders often have to cope with items left behind by previous sub-tenants, and that some gardeners do not have ready access to a vehicle, and that some items such as carpets are not manageable in a family car. In these cases the Association will provide a skip from time to time for the priority use of new plot holders and those with transport difficulties or awkward items. Always consider re-use and recycling of unwanted items before disposal.

It is irresponsible for any sub-tenant to bring non-compostable materials on to the site unless you have a specific practical use for them. This particularly applies to old abandoned carpets which are extremely hard to deal with once they are covered in weeds and brambles. Please respect our Allotment Site as an important food-growing resource and peaceful relaxation area and do not use it as a rubbish dump for your unwanted household items.

Excess Plant Material

Leaves, grass clippings, nettles, straw, annual weeds - Put on your compost heap.

Woody prunings, brambles, timber, old boards - stockpile until dry then burn safely on a bonfire at a suitable time*.

Perennial Weeds such as Couch Grass and Mares tail - remove as much soil as possible, stock pile in a separate heap or container and dry out thoroughly over several months, then burn (or compost if you are brave).

Unwanted Non-plant Material

Whole bricks and other useful building materials - let other plot holders know they are available through the exchange.

Stones - collect in rubble sacks and take to the tip or use on hard areas such as paths.

Glass - collect safely in a sack and take to tip for recycling

Metal - take to the tip for scrap, drinks cans can be recycled

Plastic sheet and sacks - collect in sacks and take to the tip - Plastic bottles can be recycled.

Carpet from previous tenants - collect together and take to the tip or wait for Association skip.

Unwanted Soil

Topsoil is valuable resource and is not rubbish. You should never throw away or try to burn topsoil. If your gardening method is producing quantities of large clods of mixed earth and weeds you should change your cultivation method. Even soil which is very contaminated with perennial weeds can be safely stockpiled and re-used over time. Clumps of weeds and soil must not be put in the skip.

Guidance for Bonfires

It is important not to annoy your neighbours, other gardeners or residents with smoke and the risk of fire spreading. The ideal time for a bonfire is a cold day as it is getting dark, when most neighbours will have their windows closed and no washing hanging out. Never burn clumps of soil or plastic. Always closely supervise your fire and have buckets of water handy.

Watering

Water is expensive and at some times of the year can be scarce. Water crops only in the early morning or late evening to reduce waste froim evaporation. Watering during a hot suny day is very wasteful as most of it will evaporate into the air. Hoses are permitted but must be attended at all times and sprinklers are not permitted. Water is turned off during the winter to prevent ice damage to the pipes - it will be back on for the Easter weekend.

Security

Please keep all gates locked at all times and please do not park your car on the main pathways

ALLOTMENTS WITHIN THE ROYAL BOROUGH OF KINGSTON UPON THAMES

GUIDELINES FOR SHEDS AND GREENHOUSES ON ALLOTMENT SITES

On allotment sites that are self managed, the appropriate Allotment Association may grant permission for a single shed and greenhouse on all full, or half size plots, on the following conditions:

1.      The plot holder will obtain, if necessary and at the plot holder’s own expense, planning and any other relevant consents before a shed or greenhouse is erected.

2.      The siting of sheds and greenhouses on individual plots is to be considered carefully so as to avoid causing any nuisance or disturbance to adjoining residential properties and to ensure that accessways are not blocked or made more difficult to use.

3.      No trees are to be lopped or removed in order to accommodate a shed or greenhouse.

4.      The Association will, so far as possible, seek to achieve consistency in the design, size and appearance of all sheds and greenhouses erected at a site.

5.      At the end of the lease of an allotment site, all sheds and greenhouses will, if required by the Council, be removed from the site and the land reinstated to its former condition.

6.      The Association will indemnify the Council against all claims which might arise in connection with the construction and use of sheds and greenhouses.

7.      If the Council receives any complaints regarding the position or use of a shed or greenhouse, it may, after making an inspection and discussing the matter with all interested parties, require the shed or greenhouse to be removed.

8.      Sheds and/or greenhouses shall:

(a)        be no larger than 8 feet by 6 feet by 7 feet 6 inches high (or approximate metric equivalent);

(b)        be of a pitched roof type for greenhouses, and of a pitched roof or pent roof type for sheds;

(c)        be erected in a workmanlike manner using new, good and sound materials;

(d)        be generally in accordance with the following:

(i)         sheds to be timber framed, the external covering to be weather boarding or tongued and grooved boarding securely fixed t the framework and laid on a suitable foundation, the roof to be similarly framed with adequate boarding securely fixed and covered with appropriately fixed roofing felt;

(ii)        doors and windows to sheds to be properly framed with doors being at least ledged and braced and fitted with suitable locks;

(iii)       greenhouses to be constructed of timber or aluminium, of a proprietary brand, laid on a suitable foundation, appropriately glazed and with doors fitted with a suitable lock;

Please also see the attached Sub-Tenancy Agreement to remind you of your full rights and responsibilities

Page Updated 17th April 2010